Toggle type latch



June 7, 1960 J. FIKUART TOGGLE TYPE LATCH Filed Feb. 19. 1959 INVENTOR.

JOSHUA F/KUART BY Z a 9 A TTORNEIKS- United States Patent TOGGLE TYPE LATCH Joshua Fikuart, 130 N 1 Chicago St., Lincoln, Ill. Filed Feb. 19, 1959, Ser. No. 794,318

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-----70) This invention relates to hardware and more particularly to a toggle type latch primarily intended to releasably hold closures, such as screen doors, cabinet doors or other closures in closed position but this latch is also well adapted for use in releasably securing any two relatively movable elements in juxtaposition.

The basic principle of this invention is disclosed in my Patent No. 2,399,667, issued May 7, 1946, for a fastener for wrist watch bands, but very significant structural changes and improvements have been made in orderv to provide a latch which will operate to securely hold a closure without rebound and which may be designed to provide a significantly greater resistance to opening thanto closing. Furthermore, the latch of this invention may he so constructed as to provide a particular resistance to opening ,or closing desired with a particular type of structure, it being obvious thatrelatively less resistance to opening orjclosing is desirable with closures of lightweight than would be desirable with closures which are relatively heavy. Furthermore, the latch of this invention requires no significant alteration of the elements or structure to which the same is applied, it not being necessary to provide cutouts or mortises to receive portions of the latch, it only being necessary to attach the same to the surfaces of the closures or elements involved.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a toggle type latch for use on closures or other movable elements, which latch may be economically constructed from readily available materials and applied to such closures or elements without modification thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a toggle type latch for closures or other movable elements in which the resistance to opening may be greater than the resistance to closing.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a toggle type latch for closures or other movable elements, which latch will operate to securely and releasably hold the closure or other element in closed position and which will prevent all rebound, even though the closure'or other element may be brought into engagement with the latch suddenly and with considerable force.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a. toggle type latch for closures or other movable elements, which latch is provided with selectively usable stop means to prevent inadvertent opening of the latch when such a condition is desirable.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a toggle type latch for closures or other movable elements, which latch will operate to securely and releasably hold the closure or movable element in closed position and which latch will also operate as a stop to prevent movement of the closure or other movable element beyond a predetermined closed position.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a toggle type latch for closures or other movable elements, which latch may be substantially entirely constructed from sheet material by rapid and "economical stamping operations thereby contributing to the low cost of manufacture of the latch of this invention.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective showing the latch of this invention applied to a door jamb or other fixed object and a latch bolt applied to a door or other closure or mov able element and with the latch in open position just prior to receiving the latch bolt during closing movement of the door or other element;

Fig. 2 an exploded view in perspective showing the two principal elements of the latch of this invention;

Fig. 3 a plan view showing the latch of this invention in closed position and showing the stop means in dotted lines in position to prevent inadvertent opening of the latch;

Fig. 4 a plan view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the latch in open position;

Fig. 5 a side elevational view with parts in section for greater clarity and showing the latch in closed position; and

Fig. 6 a side elevational view similar to Fig. 5 but taken from the opposite side and showing the latch in closed position.

With continued reference to the drawing, there is shown a toggle type latch constructed in accordance with this invention and which may well include a toggle mechanism comprising a bar 10 and a second bar 11 which are pivotally connected together in overlapping relationship at one end by a suitable pivot pin 12 which may be in the form of a rivet or other suitable fastening means. i

The bar 10, as best shown in Fig. 2, may beforme'd of sheet metal by a suitable stamping or other operation and the bar 10 may well include an elongated portion 13 having a slot 14 at one end thereof and provided at the opposite end with an enlarged generally circular portion 15 having an aperture 16 therein for receiving the pivot pin 12. A laterally extending ear 17 is provided on, the bar 13 adjacent the enlarged circular portion 15 and the ear 17 is provided with an arcuate notch 18 therein and the outer end 19 of the ear 17 is offset for a purpose to be later described.

On the opposite side of the bar 13 from the car 17, there is provided a laterally extending segmental arm 20 having a segment portion 21 connected to the enlarged circular portion 15 on the bar 10 by a neck 22. The segmental portion 21 is provided with a downturned lug 23 at one end thereof and a downturned lug 24 at the opposite end. A relatively deepnotch 25 is provided in the lower surface of the segmental portion 21 adjacent the downturned lug 24 and spaced from the notch 25 is a second notch 26 which is of less depth than the notch 25. The purpose and operation of notches 25 and 26 will be later described.

The bar 11 is formed in the same manner as the bar 10 but is inverted with respect thereto and the bar 11 may comprise an elongated portion 27 having a notch 28 at one end thereof and an enlarged generally circular portion 29 at the opposite end having an aperture 30 therein for receiving the pivot pin 12. Projecting lateral- 1y from one side of the bar 11 is an ear 31 provided with an arcuate notch 32 therein and the outer end 33 of the ear 31 is offset for a purpose to be presently described.

Projecting laterally from the opposite side of the bar 11 from the ear 31 is a segmental arm 34 having a segmental portion 35 connected to the enlarged circular portion 29 by a neck 36. The segmental portion 35 is provided at one end with an upturned lug 37 and at the opposite end with an upturned lug '38. A relatively deep notch 39 is provided in the upper surface of the segmental portion 35 adjacent the upturned lug 37 and spaced from the notch 39 is a second notch 40 of relatively less depth than the notch 39. The purpose and operation of notches 39 and 40 will be later described.

.::As best shown in Fig. l, thetoggle mechanism of this invention may be mounted on a door jamb or other element 41 by means of screws or other suitable fastening elements 42 and 43 extending through the slots 14 and 28 respectively in the arms and 11 respectively. It is to be noted, that the arms 10 and 11 are-pivotally secured together in overlapping relationship by the pivot pin 12 and with the downturned lug 23 on the segmental arm 20 engaging the upper surface of the segmental portion 35 of the segmental arm 34 and with the upturned lug 38 on one end of the segmental arm 34 engaging the lower surface of the segmental portion 21 of the segmental arm 20. 'It is also to be noted that the upturned lug 37 on the segmental arm 34 is disposedoutwardly of the downturned lug 23 on the segmental arm 20 and that the downturned lug 24 on the segmental arm 20 is disposed outwardly of the upturned lug 38 on the segmental arm 34. This disposition of the lugs prevents relative movement of the bars 10 and 11 and the segmental arms 20 and 34 in one direction beyond a predetermined point. As best shown in Fig. 5, ,ofisetting of the ends 19 and 33 of the ears17 and 31 dispose these ends in the same plane and as shown in Fig. 3, when the bars 10 and 11 are in alignment, the ends 19 and 33 of the ears 17 and 31 engage each other in which position the arcuate notches 18 .and 32 together form an aperture for the reception of a latch bolt 44 secured to a door 45 or other movable element mounted in movable relationship to the door jamb or other element 41. As shown in Fig. 4, when the bars 10 and .11 are moved out of alignment, the offset ends 19 and 33 of the ears 17 and 31 move apart to provide an open recess into which the latch bolt 44 may move.

' As'shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the latch of this invention is in open position preparatory to receiving the latch bolt .44 and it is to be noted that in this position the downturned lug 23 is received in the relatively shallow notch 40'and the upturned lug 38 is received in the relatively shallow notch 26. Furthermore, the bars 10 and 11 are secured together by the pivot pin 12 in such a manner that the downturned lug 23 engages the upper surface of the segmental arm 34 and the upturned lug 38 engages the lower surface of the segmental arm 20 with suflicient friction to prevent inadvertent movement of the bars 10 and 11 into or out of alignment. The relatively shallow notches 26 and 40 provide detent means for releasably retaining the latch in open position as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and a relatively small force exerted by the latch bolt 44 moving between the offset ends 19 and 33 of the ears 17 and 31 into engagement with the edge surfaces of the enlarged circular portions and 29 on the bars 10 and 11 respectively will operate to move the bars 10 andll from the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4 to the position shown in Fig. 3. This force exerted by the latch bolt 44 will operate to move the downturned lug 23 out of the notch' 40 and the upturned lug 38 out of the notch 26 and the bars 10 and 11 will move into alignment as shown in Fig. 3, at which time the downturned lug 23 will engage the relatively deep notch 39 and the upturned lug 38 will engage the relatively deep notch 25. In this position also, the offset ends 19 and 33 will engage each otherto form an aperture receiving and retaining the latch bolt 44 to prevent movement of the closure or other element 45 away from the jamb or element 41. The relatively deep notches 25 and 39 provide detents which prevents movement of the latch bolt 44 outwardly to move the bars 10 and 11 out of alignment without the exertion of considerable force on the latchbolt 44. There is thus provided a means whereby a greater force is required to open the latch than to close the same. The notches 14 and 28 in the outer ends of the bars 10 and 11 which receive the screw or other fastening means 42 and 43 permit pivotal and sliding movement of the bars 10 and 11 during operation of the toggle mechanism. The depth of the notches and 39 may be designed to provide any desired opening force for the latch and also the depth of the notches 26 and may be designed to provide any desired closing force. This is important where the latch mechanism is to be utilized on doors or other structures of different weights, since the inertia of the door or other movable element will, of course, vary for different weights of the same. It will also be noted that by reason of the fact that the downturned lug 23 and the upturned lug 38 snap into the notches 39'and-25'respectively upon closing of the latch, that rebound of the door or other element 45 will be prevented.

Since at times it may be desirable to secure the latch means against opening movement, there has been provided a slidable stop member 46 which may well comprise a strap 47 slidably received on the portion 13 of the bar-10 and the stop member 46 is provided with an abutment 48 which, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, is movable into position to prevent relative pivotal movement of the bars 10 and 11 by engaging the upturned lug 37 on the segmental arm 34 of the bar 11. -When it is desired to permit the latch to open, the stop member 46 may be moved to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 3. While the stop member 46 is shown asslidably mounted on the bar 10, obviously the same might also be mounted on the bar 11 and the operation when so mounted would be as described above. 7 1 i 7 it will be seen that by the above described invention there has been'pro vided a relatively simple, yet highly efiective toggle type latch which may be conveniently and economically manufactured by stamping or other equivalent operations from sheet material and which may be conveniently applied to doors or other structures without modification of the same and withoutrequiring the use of special tools. The latch of this inventionwill operate to securely but releasably hold a movable element in place in juxtaposition to a fixed element, but will permit relative outward movement ofthe same upon exertion of a suitable force thereon and the latch mechanism of this invention will also operate to prevent a rebound when a door or other movable element is suddenly closed.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without'departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims. 1

What is claimed is:

l. A toggle type latch for releasably securing two relatively movable elements'in juxtaposition, said latch comprising a toggle mechanism mounted on one element, said toggle mechanism comprising a pair of bars overlapping and pivotally connected together at one end, means pivotally and slidably securing the opposite end of each bar to said one element, a laterally extending ear on each bar at said one end, opposedarcuate notches in the confronting edges or said ears, the outer confronting edges of said ears being oppositely offset to lie in the same plane and abut each other when said bars are in alignment to provide with said notches a closed aperture and when said bars are out of alignment, to provide a recess open at one side in alignment with a pivot point of said bars, a laterally extending segmental arm on each bar at said one end on'theopp osit e side from said ears, said arms overlapping and terminating in spaced relation to said bars, a first downturned lug on one end and a second down- :turned lug on: the oppositeend of the upper arm, a first mpturned'lug'on one'end and a second upturned lug on the opposite end of..the'lower arm, said first downturned said first upturned lug and spaced notches in the lower sur- 5 face of said upper arm adjacent said second downturned lug, said notches in said upper surface releasably receiving said first downturned lug and said notches in said lower surface releasably receiving said second upturned lug in diiferent relative positions of said arms to releas- 10 ably retain said aperture in open or closed condition and a stop member slidably mounted on one of said bars and movable to a position blocking movement of one of said arms to prevent opening of said aperture.

2. A toggle type latch as defined in claim 1, in which said spaced notches in said segmental arms are of difierent depths to vary the force required to open or close said aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

